Can package



Jan. 28, 1958 J. D. CRARY 2,821,299

CAN PACKAGE Filed Aug. 1, 1955 'JW m INVENTOR. JAY a}, CRARY ATTORNEYS United States Patent CAN PACKAGE Jay D. Crary, Portland, 0reg.; Harold C. Holmes, executor of. said Jay D. Crary, assignor to Paper Strap, Inc,

Portland, 0reg., a corporation of Oregon Application August 1, 1955, Serial No. 525,612

2 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) The present invention relates to a merchandise package and'more particularly to a package unit of canned goods.

Because of the ever increasing trend to self-service in retail stores, it has become the practice to package a plurality of articles such as cans of beer or other canned goods-into a package of several cans to be picked up by the shopper as a unit from the grocery shelves. The packaging arrangements presently used commercially are relatively expensive and the cannery or brewery distributing the packaged product must ordinarily absorb the cost of thepackaging since the same price is charged the public for the packaged unit as for the unpackaged cans. Some of the prior art arrangements used for packaging cans into marketing units utilize wrappers that are subject to. wear-and breakage during shipment of the units andiotherarrangements are not convenient to grip or carry.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a new and improved package of cans that may be produced easily and at low cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement for packaging cans in units that are not subject toinjury during shipment of the package.

Stillanother object is to provide an arrangement for packaging cans that may utilize simple, eflicient machinery in effecting the packaging.

A further object is to provide a package unit comprising several cans which displays the sides of the packaged cans to the view of the customer, and likewise exposes large surface areas of the cans so that their contents may be cooled relatively quickly.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in the following specification.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiments of the invention, cans are packaged in merchandising units by handing together a plurality of cans arranged in side by side relation in parallel rows with partitions of cardboard or similar material between the cans to hold them in position. The band utilized is a narrow strip whereby the major surface area of the can is exposed to the view of public.

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the package of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view thereof;

Fig. 4 is an exploded, perspective view showing the construction of partitions for the package of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a strap which may be utilized in the packaging of cans in accordance with the invention.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the package of the invention therein illustrated comprises six cylindrical cans of the type which has an outstanding peripheral flange or rim 11 on each of its opposite ends.

Patented Jan. 28, 1958 As shown, the cans are arranged in side by side relation in two parallel rows.

A partition unit comprising a plurality of partition elements is provided for retaining the cans in position. Extending lengthwise between the rows is a longitudinal partition 14 which, as shown in Fig. 3, is of slightly lesser length than the overall length of the rows and of somewhat lesser height than the height of the cans 10, the partition 14 being positioned between the upper and lower rims 11 of the adjacent cans so that the rims overlap the partition. A pair of transverse partitions 16, 17 are also provided for extending between the adjacent pairs of cans in the opposite rows as most clearly shown in Fig. 2. The longitudinal partition 14 is formed with notches 18 extending downwardly from its upper edge and the transverse partitions 16, 17 with notches 20 extending upwardly from their lower edges so that the partitions fit in interlocking relationship as indicated best in Fig. 4 and any lifting force imposed on the longitudinal partition 14 will be transmitted to the transverse partitions 16, 17. The transverse partitions 16, 1'7 are also of slightly lesser height than the cans 10 and are positioned between the upper and lower rims 11 thereof as best shown in Fig. 1.

For reasons to be made apparent, the transverse partitions 16, 17 are preferably arranged so that at least one of them extends partially around the outer facing sides of the center cans of the rows. In the illustrated embodiment the partition 17 is of slightly lesser length than the width of the rows of cans while the partition 16 is of greater length than the width of the rows of cans and has opposite end portions 19 curved around the exposed sides of the center cans, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The partitions 14, 16, 17 may be formed of corrugated board or other suitable material that has the requisite stiffness and low cost. Preferably, the partitions are of a thickness at least twice as great as the projection of the can rims 11 so that the side surfaces of the cans snugly engage the partitions and are not held therefrom by engagement of the rims.

Encircling the cans 10 and binding them snugly against the partitions 14, 16, 17 into a rectangular group or unit, is a band or strap 24. The band may be of any suitable material and may conveniently be of a transparent material so as not to mask the exterior of the cans whereby the full labels of the cans will be exposed to the view of the purchaser. However, the band 24 is conveniently formed of narrow, edge folded paper strap such as illustrated in Fig. 5 and consisting of a strip of paper, preferably of the wet strength type, the opposite longitudinal edge portions of which strip are folded over upon themselves a plurality of times as indicated at 28. Such a paper strap is more fully described in Patent 2,499,- 463. The strap 24 is wrapped tightly around the cans and secured in any suitable manner such as 'by gluing overlapping end portions.

The unit just described is a convenient merchandising package having numerous advantages. The strap 24 provides a convenient handle for carrying of the unit and may be easily grasped in any one of a variety of positions of the package, the indented space between the cans afiording space for insertion of the fingers under the strap 24. Since the rims 11 of the can overlap the partitions, it is not possible to remove the cans it from the package Without breaking the strap 24. This is desirable from the standpoint of the merchandiser since it induces the package sale of the entire unit. The extension of the partition portions 19 around the sides of the center cans of the rows is desired to securely hold these cans in posi tion and prevent their tilting from one side to another.

The unit just described may be conveniently packaged with other units in the conventional shipping carton since 3 the cans occupy no more space than unpackaged cans. Also, it will be apparent that the binding strap 24 is not subject to wear during shipping of the cans since it is not exposed to abrasion by rough can edges or rims as is the case in certain'prior art types of packages. Consequently, it can be anticipated that the unit of the invention will arrive at its destination in good order.

If desired, a furthed handle 30 may be provided on the package unit in the form of a length of strap such as shown in Fig. 5 having its opposite end portions secured as by gluing to the opposite sides of the longitudinal partition 14 at the center thereof. The strap is adapted to form a loop, such as shown in solid lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, which may be grasped to carry the package. Such a handle is particularly useful in lifting the package units from a shipping carton. When the package is carried by thehandle 30, the partitions will engage the can rims 11 to prevent the pulling'out of the partitions. The flexibility of edge folded paper strap is particularly desirable for the handle 30 since it facilitates collapsing of the handle flatly on top of cans, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, for stacking of the units of the invention in a shipping carton or on top of one another for display in a store.

A great advantage of the packaging arrangement of the invention is that it requires a minimum of packaging materials and the materials used are of low cost., Also, the packaging may be accomplished by relatively simple equipment and at high speed whereby the package unit may be manufactured at extremely low cost as compared with the cost of package units heretofore utilized.

Moreover, the use of a narrow strap for banding units together exposes the labels of the cans to view and, in the case of canned beverages, exposes a large area of the cans so that the contents may be cooled rapidly.

Having illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come withinthe true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim: a

1. A merchandise unit comprising six similar cylindrical cans having outstanding peripheral rims on their opposite ends arranged in side by side relation in two parallel rows, interlocking partitions including a longitudinal partition extending lengthwise between said rows and a pair of transverse partitions extending one between each of the opposite pairs of cans of said rows, said partitions being of lesser height than the height of said cans and being positioned between said rims whereby the rims overlap said partitions, said transverse partitions including portions partially encircling the side of the center can of each row facing outwardly of the row, and a relatively narrow strap encircling said cans and handing the same into a compact unit, said strap holding said partition portions against said center can sides whereby to 'secure the center cans in position. i 1, i

2. A merchandise unit comprising six similar cylindrical cans having outstanding peripheral rims on their opposite ends arranged in side by side relation in two parallel rows, interlocking partitions including a longitudinal portion extending lengthwise between said rows and a pair of transverse partitions extending one between each of the opposite pairs of'cans of said rows, said partitions being of lesser height than the height of said cans and being positioned between said rims whereby: the rims overlap said partitions, said transverse partitions'including portions partially encircling the side of-each center can of each row facing outwardly of the row, a strap encircling said six cans and handing the same into a com:- pact unit, said strap holding said partition portions against said center can sides, and a handle for lifting said unit comprising a length of flexible paper strap having its opposite ends secured one to each of the opposite sides. of said longitudinal partition at the center thereof and having suflicient length to form a loop into which a hand can be inserted, said handle being collapsible flatwise on the top of a unit to permit stacking of a number of similar units.

References Cited in the file of patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Burge June 1, 1954 

